I’ve been following JetSetLife and Rob and Kim’s blogs for over a year now, becoming more and more jealous of their ability to travel 10-12 weeks a year.
I’ve been following JetSetLife and Rob and Kim’s blogs for over a year now, becoming more and more jealous of their ability to travel 10-12 weeks a year.
After high school, I chose not to take time off for travel, so while my friends were backpacking across Europe, I went to University right away. Although I don’t regret my choice, I missed out on the travel experiences my friends had and was very jealous of their stories. As my University career came to a close (I’m almost done!), I got to thinking “Why can’t I travel?” A close girlfriend of mine had approached me about traveling to Europe in late summer so I jumped at the chance.
Since I had been following JetSetLife, I took a look at their recommendations for Europe. I have never been a “backpacker” or “vagabond” type traveler so the idea of “hip” travel really resonated with me. After looking through their pictures and thinking about the time period I was traveling, my girlfriend and I chose Greece to visit for three weeks. Based on Rob and Kim’s recommendations, we chose Athens, Paros, Ios, and Santorini as the islands to stay on.
We began in Athens, staying one night in the old Athens port where all the private yachts are docked. There, we had our first white wine and authentic Greek salad experience.
- Old Port (Athens, Greece)
– Greek Salad (Athens, Greece)
– Yachts in Old Port (Athens, Greece)
Next, we spent a couple days in Paros, a quiet island, perfect for relaxing. I celebrated my birthday there while drinking white wine in the moonlight in a town called Naoussa. We continued onto Ios, a party island similar to Mykonos where we met up with another girlfriend of ours. Since I had JetSetLife as a resource, I knew to not go out to eat before 11:00 p.m. and to not expect to get home from the nightlife experience until 7:00 a.m. JetSetLife’s recommendation to have a nap before dinner saved me on numerous occasions. In Ios, I was able to just let loose, have a great time, and do all sorts of activities including boating, cliff jumping, and participating in the nightlife.
– Octopus (Paros, Greece)
– Cliff Jumping (Ios, Greece)
– Sunset (Ios, Greece)
My favorite island was Santorini. The island is of course gorgeous, but because of JetSetLife we knew the best places to go. We took a sunset cruise off of Amoudi Bay to a nearby volcano, we rode donkeys in Fira, watched the sunset in Oia, visited the Santos Winery one afternoon, and picked our hotel because it was a block away from the Perivolas black sand beach in Perissa.
– Perivolas Black Sand Beach (Santorini, Greece)
– Donkeys (Santorini, Greece)
– Katie in Oia (Santorini, Greece)
– Katie in Oia 2 (Santorini, Greece)
We ended the trip in a gorgeous villa called The Stargazer in Schinias (an hour outside of Athens) owned by a local couple that my friend’s parents were staying in before they embarked on their own Mediterranean cruise.
http://www.stargazervilla.com/
– Stargazer Villa (Schinias, Greece)
Looking back, I almost didn’t go on the trip. I had lots of excuses as to why I shouldn’t – I had a long-term boyfriend that I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want to be away from my family on my birthday, I couldn’t afford it, and I couldn’t take time off work. But as Rob says “Excuses are over. It’s time to live!” I made sure that each of those excuses where taken care of (the major one – my parents footing the bill as a graduation gift – thanks Mom & Dad!) so I could enjoy myself and really experience another culture.
I’m now planning another European adventure next April to Spain, Portugal, and Italy with another girlfriend. Since being bitten by the travel bug, I will definitely be using Rob and Kim’s recommendations in the future!
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